Chapter 49

Hugo headed towards the detention cell where Leonardo was, emitting a chilly aura with his quick steps.

The restless guards' faces lit up when he appeared at the end of the corridor. However, as he got closer, they couldn't show their full delight upon seeing the Commander's stiffly hardened face.

Hugo, who had reached them, asked without preamble,

"Where is Leonardo?"

"Ah, he's inside."

As if not caring about the trembling answer, Hugo swung open the door to the detention cell where Leonardo was confined in one breath. As soon as he entered, Hugo's expression darkened as the miserably spilled food was stepped on by his shoes.

And right in front of his gaze, on the old sofa, Leonardo Blaine was sitting very arrogantly with his legs crossed. Leaning sideways with his head slightly turned, he raised his hand towards Hugo.

"Oh, you came faster than I thought."

Hugo immediately slammed the door behind him and strode towards Leonardo.

Leonardo, who had been smiling leisurely, noticed his bad mood and jumped up from the sofa, shouting urgently while keeping a distance in the not-so-spacious room.

"Wait, I didn't do anything and stayed put!"

"Didn't do anything?"

Hugo raised one eyebrow and asked back. At the same time, Leonardo unconsciously gulped as he saw blue mana gathering in Hugo's hand.

'He's angry.'

Although there wasn't much expression on that upright and cold face, the extremely chilly voice and the cold air around were proof of that.

Even for Leonardo, who didn't care much outside whether he was angry or not, he couldn't be arrogant now as it was an enclosed space and his mana was being controlled. If he got hit by the mana gathering in that hand, he would faint immediately without being able to say a few words, rendering the meaning of calling him here pointless.

To avoid the situation, Leonardo stretched out his palms forward and spoke calmly as if trying to have a conversation with Hugo.

"Don't be angry and listen to me."

"Angry? Leonardo. I have never been angry at you."

'You're being angry right now.'

The moment Leonardo thought that, Hugo swung his hand, and suddenly a long whip appeared and quickly flew towards him, who was cornered. Leonardo, whose back was blocked by the wall, quickly lowered his head and ran away to the side.

"No, wait!"

Although it was a whip made of water, perhaps because it was Hugo Agrizendro's mana, its power was strong enough to not be ignored. It was to the extent that the iron wall hit by the whip was scratched.

Leonardo narrowly avoided the whip several times and ran towards the bed in the corner, stepping on the sofa he had been sitting on earlier and crossing over it in one breath. Hugo, who was chasing after him, never ran, but he took large strides with his long legs and mercilessly swung the whip towards him.

At that moment, the whip wrapped around Leonardo's ankle and pulled him back, and Leonardo, whose foot got caught on the low table, fell onto the bed as if collapsing.

Even while losing his balance, he felt a creepy sensation on his spine and hurriedly rolled to the side and flipped his body.

Bang!

Then, Hugo's hand slammed into the spot where Leonardo's head had originally been, completely piercing the bed mattress. Smoke rose from that part with a hiss.

Leonardo looked at the terrifying hand that had flown and stuck right next to his head, then turned his eyes to Hugo above him and spoke with a disgusted face,

"Are you trying to kill me?"

"I won't kill you."

The whip in Hugo's hand moved on its own as if it had a will, tying Leonardo's hands and firmly restraining them. In the meantime, Hugo pulled out his hand stuck in the mattress and aimed at Leonardo's head again.

Looking at that cold face that seemed to have no blood or tears, the words that he wouldn't kill him sounded like he would make him faint. As Leonardo, who sensed the crisis, tried to get up immediately, Hugo's other hand grabbed his shoulder tightly to prevent him from moving.

Feeling the heavy grip that seemed to crush his shoulder blade, Leonardo was staring at the large hand approaching his eyes when,

Growl-

The sound of his stomach yearning for food for survival echoed, and Hugo's hand flying towards his head stopped right before it.

For a moment, silence flowed between the two.

Leonardo closed his eyes tightly, furrowing his brows at the unbearable embarrassment that came at this very moment. The timing was so bad that the sound seemed particularly louder because the room was quiet.

However, thanks to that, it seemed he had avoided fainting. Leonardo, who slowly opened his eyes again, told Agrizendro, who was still looking down at him with a cold face, the main point of why he had called him.

"...Give me some food."

***

The sound of clinking tableware was heard continuously. Hugo, who had his hands clasped and his chin resting on them, glanced at the piling plates and then turned his gaze back to the front, looking at Leonardo, who was devouring numerous plates in front of him.

It didn't seem like he was eating in a hurry, but the guy was busily moving his not-so-large mouth and hands, making the food on the plates disappear one by one in the blink of an eye. It was only natural for the eyes of the server going back and forth to the table to widen.

Hugo tried hard not to show it, thinking that if he himself showed a surprised look, the other person would be quite embarrassed. However, even seeing it directly, it was unbelievable that so much food could fit into that slender body.

"...You must have been very hungry."

At Hugo's murmur, which sounded like he was talking to himself, Leonardo, whose cheeks were puffed up with a mouthful of food, nodded. At that sight, Hugo silently pushed a new plate forward.

This brazen guy, just one day after being transferred to a temporary detention facility by begging and pleading to be taken out of prison, saying he would behave. Using escape as a weapon, he threatened the guards and made Hugo, the Commander, come directly.

Moreover, he strongly demanded to eat food from outside, saying that the meals provided were tasteless, so now Hugo was at the employee-only restaurant inside the Council, which was quiet after lunchtime, with him.

He knew it was not polite to stare at someone else eating, but Leonardo's appearance, eating with a happy face as if the food was delicious, seemed so unfamiliar that Hugo quietly gazed at him.

After a while, Leonardo, who had neatly emptied the last plate and stacked it on the side, wiped his mouth with a napkin on the table and rubbed his stomach as if satisfied.

"Wow, I really ate well. The Council's food is delicious? They should have given me this kind of thing sooner. Then I would have stayed put."

Leonardo, who felt full, looked the happiest Hugo had ever seen him.

Although he had to stay with him as a supervisor because he was the only one in the Council who could control an immeasurable S4-grade mage by force, seeing his greatly curved eyes, Hugo felt that it was not entirely pointless to have brought him out.

Because of that, erasing the smile that almost spread to his own lips, he picked up the cup on the table. Water gradually filled the empty cup halfway. As Hugo placed it in front of Leonardo, he said,

"I'm glad you seem satisfied. Now, let's get up. I brought you out for a moment because you threatened to escape."

Leonardo, who had put his lips to the cup he received, slightly narrowed his brows at those words, as if he didn't want to follow. Then, he tilted his head back, drank all the water, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and deliberately put the cup down with a sound.

"I've been trapped inside all this time, so you should at least give me time to get some fresh air. What's the harm in going back slowly?"

"..."

"And the escape thing was just something I said. You've tied me up like this just for coming out for a bit, so what escape?"

Leonardo said, raising the handcuff attached to his left wrist. The handcuff was connected to a long chain on both sides, and the other end of the chain was attached to Hugo's right wrist.

Looking at the thin, clinking chain, Hugo let out a small sigh. Then, getting up from his seat, he said to Leonardo,

"I have to attend a meeting soon."

At the firm tone, Leonardo looked up at him, visibly disappointed. As Hugo met his gaze that showed he didn't want to go back, he continued,

"...So the time I can allocate to you is very short. If we go out for a bit and then go back in, promise me you'll behave."

At his words, Leonardo's expression brightened again, and he soon grinned and replied in a pleased tone,

"Okay. I really promise."

Leonardo, who also got up from his seat, lightly waved his pinky finger in front of Hugo as if making a real promise and headed outside.

Although Hugo wondered if it was a good idea to fulfill all of the guy's requests like this, he had no choice but to follow him due to the tightly pulled chain.